Swedish Vallhund Breed Magazine - Showsight

JUDGING THE SWEDISH VALLHUND

HINDQUARTERS • Angulation: to balance the front, well angulated at stifle and hock • Legs: well boned, upper and lower thighs strongly muscled. Lower thigh is slightly longer than the distance from hock to ground. • Stifles: well bent; Hocks (Metatarsal bones): perpendicular to the ground, and viewed from the rear, parallel • Feet: toes and pads same as forefeet. COAT • Medium length, harsh; topcoat close and tight; undercoat soft and dense. • Hair is short on head and foreparts of legs, slightly longer on neck, chest, and back parts of hind legs. • Dogs are to be shown in an untrimmed, natural state. Faults include wooly, curly, or open coats. Fluffy coats (longer hair on body and furnishings, with ear fringes) are a serious fault. GAIT Sound with strong reach and drive. From the front, the legs do not move in exact parallel planes, but incline slightly inward to compensate for shortness of leg and width of chest. The forelegs should reach forward in a free stride without too much lift. Hind legs should drive well under the body and move on a line with the forelegs, with hocks turning neither in nor out. Feet should travel parallel to the line of motion with no tendency to swing out, cross over, or interfere with each other. Short, choppy movement and overly close or wide movement is faulty. TEMPERAMENT Watchful, energetic, fearless, alert, intelligent, friendly, eager to please, active and steady; never vicious or shy. COLOR A sable pattern in colors of grey through red and combinations of these colors in various shades. All are equally acceptable. Lighter shades on chest, belly, buttocks, lower legs, feet, and hocks, with darker hairs on back, neck, and sides of body. Light harness mark- ings are essential. Although a dark muzzle is acceptable, a well- defined mask with lighter hair around eyes, on muzzle, and under throat, giving a distinct contrast to the head color, is highly desir- able. White is permitted as a narrow blaze, neck spot, slight neck- lace, and white markings on the legs and chest. White in excess of one third of the dog’s total color is a very serious fault. Any color other than described above is a very serious fault. Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault, and the seriousness of the fault should be in exact propor- tion to its degree.

“Watchful, energetic, fearless, alert, intelligent, friendly, eager to please, active and steady; never vicious or shy.” The following faults are to be so severely penalized as to effec- tively eliminate the dog from competition: Fluffy coat, any color other than described above, nose not predominantly black, more than one-third white, any bite other than scissors. RING PRESENTATION For ease and proper perspective, the Swedish Vallhund is exam- ined on a firm, solid table, permitting an accurate evaluation of the dog’s structure, balance, and outline. Expression and tempera- ment are best judged when the dog is on the ground. The Vallhund should be walked naturally into a four square stance with his atten- tion focused on his handler. The dog should require a minimum of hand posing except when being stacked on the table for examina- tion. The Vallhund is best gaited at a moderate trot on a loose lead, as “stringing up” interferes with freedom of movement. A taut lead or racing the dog may actually cause choppy movement. A Vall- hund should be shown in a natural, untrimmed state, but clean and with short nails and tidied pad hair. Excessive grooming is to be discouraged. PROCEDURE FOR JUDGING THE SWEDISH VALLHUND Assess the outline and balance of the dog from at least 15 feet away from the dogs—both standing and gaiting. Always examine a Vallhund on a table. Wait until the dog is set up on the table before examining him. Stand away from the table to assess balance and outline. Evaluate true Vallhund expression on the ground, not on the table. Should a reexamination be necessary, it is preferable to put the dog back on the table. A Vallhund examined on the ground should be approached from the front, not because of fear or injury to the examiner, but because this breed reacts quickly to unexpected movements over- head. He should recover promptly and resume his self-confident attitude. This avoidance is not to be interpreted as shyness. Smooth, sound movement with free reach and drive should be highly regarded.

276 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2023

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